How to install the iOS 17 public beta

By Andrew O'Hara

As promised, Apple has seeded the first public beta of iOS 17 to users. Here's how you can sign up, download, and install it on your iPhone right now.

iOS 17 public beta is now available

We've been testing iOS 17 for the past month on the initial developer beta and have come to appreciate so many of the new features.

StandBy mode is incredible, allowing us to show widgets, Live Activities, photos, or the time when our iPhone is connected to our MagSafe chargers. AirPods Pro have a new Adaptive Mode to blend Transparency Mode and ANC as your environment changes.

Widgets can now be interactive on your Home Screen and don't have to launch an app while AirDrop is a newly revamped experience. When used with Apple TV, we can now take FaceTime calls in our living room.

Before the software is released to everyone, Apple rolls out a series of beta updates. Betas initially were seeded to developers but now, Apple has opened them up to public beta testers for free.

Subscribe to AppleInsider on YouTube

Users will have the chance to try all the new features before anyone else. Aside from iOS 17, users can also test watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma, HomePod software, tvOS 17, and iPadOS 17.

Compared to years past, the process has changed slightly. Here's how it works now.

How to install the iOS 17 public beta

  1. Visit beta.apple.com
  2. Sign in with your Apple ID. Note: You don't need to use the same Apple ID as you use to sign in to your phone, but it can make it easier
  3. On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update
  4. It may take a moment, but below Automatic Updates a new option will appear for beta updates
  5. In this menu you can choose between off and the iOS Public Beta
  6. If you used a different Apple ID to sign up for the beta program, this is where you can sign in with that secondary ID
  7. Go back to the Software Update page and it will automatically refresh and show any available beta update

Full release this fall

Apple will release iOS 17 this fall, alongside its other major software platforms. Keep glued to AppleInsider for further coverage of Apple's beta progress as we march towards the release.